3 Tips For Being Safe When Running Outside

While it’s great to exercise and be active in your life, you want to make sure that when you’re participating in a workout that you’re being safe and protecting yourself. Not only could you sustain an injury while exercising, but you should put yourself in danger if you’re not staying vigilant. Especially when you’re working out alone or in a public area, you need to keep yourself aware of what’s going on around you. So to help ensure that you’re able to exercise the way you want while also keeping yourself safe, here are three tips for being safe when running outside.

Be Smart Around Traffic

One of the biggest dangers that you need to look out for when running outside, especially if you’re running on or near a road, is the traffic moving all around you. Because you as a person are so much smaller than a car, it can be hard for drivers to see you while you’re running. Some things you can do to help keep yourself safe and avoid getting into some type of accident with a car or other people or vehicles on the road, Jennifer Van Allen, a contributor to RunnersWorld.com, is to face the traffic that you’re running around, keep as much room between you and others on the road, wear bright colors that make it easy for you to be seen, and keep your ears clear so you can hear what’s going on around you.

Run With At Least One Other Person

While you might find peace and relaxation in running by yourself, running outside can often be much safer if you have someone else with you. Not only is there safety in numbers, but you may also find that having someone to run with will help to encourage you to run more often or farther than you otherwise would. According to Jay Bouchard, a contributor to Outside Online, running with a group can help you become more social. And if you only like to run with one other person, consider cycling through different people that you run with so you don’t get bored

Know How To Protect Yourself

We’ve all heard scary new reports about people who’ve been assaulted or abducted while running on their own. And while we’d all like to hope that this would never happen to anyone, it’s a good idea to be ready if and when you should find yourself in a situation like this. According to Mallory Creveling, a contributor to CNN, everyone who runs outside should practice self defense. As part of this, you should practice protecting yourself by attacking people in their most vulnerable areas, namely their eyes, throat, and groin.

If you like to run outside, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you stay safe out there.